Chapter 16: Normal is boring

Chapter sixteen: Normal is boring (Zach's POV)

I've been trying to figure out whether I'm attracted to her or not since Isaac asked me. That's what I haven't been able to figure out. Obviously, I can't tell her that, she'll get all weirded out. How can she not?

I'm weirded out. And I liked her for a while before I left. Like a long while and I'm still finding it weird now. It could be because I've changed, or because she's changed, or because our relationship has changed. Everything is just different now. It's so weird to think that fifteen-year-old Zach and Ellie could have dated, but seventeen-year-old Zach and Ellie couldn't. We wouldn't.

She stood up after finishing her food and washed her dishes, placing them back where they belonged before going into the room. I stayed there at the counter and sighed in frustration, resting my head on the counter.

This was a hundred percent Isaac's fault. After he asked me that question, my head stopped working.

I started seeing her differently, in the sense that I started observing her more, I found myself staring at her quite often and I knew that I was looking at her a lot more than I should have been.

It's not normal to be looking at a friend of yours like that, nor is it normal to be stupid enough to place a bet that says you have to make that friend fall in love with you. I was sitting there when my phone dinged.

It was from Nathan saying that he's coming over because he wanted to hang out.

About twenty minutes later, he came over. Ellie came out of the room in fresh clothes with her hair thrown up. "Hey," she smiled at Nathan, grabbing herself some water before going back inside.

"What's going on?" he asked while sitting on the couch beside me.

"Nothing, what's up with you?" I asked.

"Not much. Ashley's gone out with her mom, otherwise, I wouldn't be here to bother you," he chuckled.

"Come on," I scoffed.

"So, how have you two been getting along?" he asked while glancing at the door to mine and Ellie's room.

"Fine," I shrugged.

"He got lost at the grocery store," Ellie said while leaving the now empty glass in the sink before sitting at the counter with her phone in her hands.

"What?" Nathan laughed. She looked at me with a smirk while I glared at the smug look on her face.

"Ask him, he'll tell you all about it," she said while rocking her legs back and forth.

"What is she talking about?" he turned to me.

"Nothing," I dismissed it. "I need to talk to you about something," I said to him, lowering my voice.

"Keeping secrets? I see how it is," she spoke up. We both looked up at her and she rolled her eyes. "Relax, continue with your bromance, please." With that she stood up and went back into the room, closing the door behind her.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Is it normal to be attracted to someone who you kind of hate?" I questioned.

"Who are you talking about?" he questioned.

"That's not relevant," I retorted.

"Sure it is. If I don't like her, I'm gonna say no, if I do, then I'll say yes," he shrugged. I stared at him in confusion. "Nevermind, who is it?" he repeated.

I stared at the door to make sure she wouldn't come out.

"Why is that a bad thing? Are you forgetting you challenged her to fall in love with you? Why are you the one getting worried?" he asked.

"Because I'm the one having doubts about being attracted to her," I sighed.

"Are you not?" He raised a brow at me.

"I don't know. I shouldn't be though, right? It's not normal for me to be attracted to her. She's still Ellie-Bellie," I huffed.

"She's nowhere near the Ellie-Bellie she was. You've just come back and you have no idea how much she's changed, just wait for it. And anyway, who likes normal? Normal is boring," he shrugged with a smirk.

I shook my head while rolling my eyes.

"Come on, you two had a thing growing up, whether it happens or not, who knows? Plus, you both have got a bet on the line now. It's completely up to you two."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It had been about an hour or so, Nathan and I played video games for a while, I told him about my conversation with Isaac and then got back to talking about random things when her door opened and she came out with her phone pressed to her ear and a smile on her face.

"I don't know about tomorrow, does Friday night sound good?" she asked while opening the fridge. "Oh, really?" she laughed.

Nathan and I looked at each other in confusion. I raised my eyebrows, hoping he could tell me who she was talking to but by the looks of it, he had no idea.

"Okay, I'll see you Friday for dinner. Bye," she said before hanging up. She turned around and grabbed the chopping board and a knife and some strawberries. She looked up at us and caught us starting. "What?" she asked.

"Who were you talking to?" I questioned.

"Nobody," she shrugged in response.

Nathan looked at me like I should know who it was. "Has Ellie landed herself a date?" Nathan teased her while walking over to her.

"No," she laughed while shaking her head. He grabbed her phone subtly off the counter. "Good luck cracking the password this time," she said nonchalantly, not bothered in the slightest about us figuring it out.

"Oh, we will." Nathan sat beside me and handed me her phone.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Figure it out," he shrugged.

I tried a couple of things, her birthday, her old dog's birthday, rest in peace Vodka, yes that was his name. I tried a lot of important dates. It had to be an important date, what else could it be? I stared at the screen, I was one try away from disabling it. I looked up at her and she was enjoying her strawberries while watching us with amusement.

It couldn't be... could it?

I typed in the date, surprised that I remembered it and her phone unlocked itself.

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows at her, genuinely surprised that's the date she would choose. I handed the phone to Nathan and she rolled her eyes, staying in her spot while Nathan went through her call log.

"Really? Him?" he asked.

"Why are you saying it like that? Isaac is nice!" she defended.

Isaac? She's going on a date with Isaac?

"He's nice and I am going on that date." She came and snatched her phone back before shoving it in her pocket and then going back to the room. Nathan turned to me, giving me a pointed look.

"What did I do? How is that my fault?" I asked.

"Next time, maybe don't tell him that you're not attracted to her when you know that you might be," he scoffed.

"I'm not attracted to her," I huffed.

"Then why would you make a bet to get her to fall in love with you? Where did that idea even come from?" he questioned.

"From her sudden desperate desire to fall in love with someone," I replied.

"And why must that be you?" he arched a brow at me.

"Do you think there's someone in our school who can love her right?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"But you can?" he interrogated.

"That's not what I said," I sighed.

"You implied it. Otherwise, why would you make that bet? Obviously, you think you can love her right. Am I correct?" He's too smart to trick with my words.

"I didn't say that I just don't trust other guys for her."

"And why is that your responsibility? I'll tell you, it's not, you make it to your responsibility because that's how you want it. And what's wrong with Isaac? He doesn't mess around with girls, he doesn't hang out with the wrong people, he's a great guy for her," he shrugged.

"No, he's not. They're too different. He won't be able to handle her little outbursts of excitement or sadness, he'll think it's weird they way she flaps her arms around when she's wearing something too big for her, he'll forget her favorite flower and color, he won't be able to satisfy her," I clicked my tongue and shook my head, disagreeing with what Nathan said.

Isaac is a great guy, just not right for her.

"Nobody will remember that stuff about her, I know that," I said before he pointed that out to me.

"But you do."

I turned to him, utterly confused.

"You do remember those things about her because you know her the best. No one will ever get the chance to know her like that. She won't give that chance to anyone else. She already gave it to you. You can do whatever you want with it."

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Chapter sixteen

Is it just me that feels like everything is such a chore nowadays?

All right, another question, what's your biggest fear? let's get deep.

Mine's losing someone I love and/or dying. I am so scared to die. Like we have no idea what happens once you die, and luckily, I haven't lost anyone close to me personally, but I can't imagine what it's like to go through that.

Next chapter: Stares and whispers